January 2007

January 30, 2007

Tartine: On the way to San Francisco, where I was to meet Chad for a weekend visit with Anne and Michael, I entertained myself in part by reading the latest issue of Elle. Imagine my surprise and delight when I came upon an article about a little place in the heart of the Mission district of San Francisco called Tartine. Tartine is a bakery owned by a husband-wife team who met at culinary school: he makes the bread, she makes the pastry. And a team of guys in the back makes the croque monsieurs by the dozens. When Anne picked us up at the 24th Street station of the BART, one of the city's many means of transportation, we immediately informed her that we would not be opposed to getting a snack somewhere. Anne suggested a couple of places, but when she mentioned Tartine, my ears perked up! I believe my facial expression must have betrayed my emotion, because after a few minutes of freshening up at Anne's house and dropping off our luggage, we were on our way to Tartine! I ordered a giant gougere which I intend to recreate at home in the very near future. Chad ordered a prosciutto and arugula pressed sandwich that came in three pieces instead of the standard two because the slices of bread were so enormous. Anne arrived at the register and observed the fresh bread coming out of the oven, and so ordered a half loaf of walnut and one of plain. We all took our seats at the big wooden table by the front window, but I was too fascinated by the smells and the the growing line at the register to watch the people go by at the end of the work day. Apparently, those in the know arrive at Tartine around 430 or 5PM in order to get the bread straight out of the oven. The fresh loaves were being carried from the shop by the bagful throughout our little snacktime, I imagine for local restaurants to dole out to their bread-savvy clientele. As we finished our "snacks," Michael joined us and ordered a hot chocolate made with none other than San Francisco's own Scharffen Berger chocolate. Now that's a hot chocolate! Well satisfied and with full bellies, back to Anne and Michael's we went to enjoy some rest and Francis Ford Coppola wine...

Zuni Cafe: Next on the agenda, dinner at Zuni Cafe. I actually purchased the eponymous cookbook written by Judy Rodgers a couple of weeks prior to departing for the city, as it is frequently called by the kind folks who reside in SF. When we began to talk about where we should go for dinner, I asked Anne if she had heard of or been to Zuni Cafe. I do believe her eyes lit up! Zuni is one of Anne and Michael's favorites. Michael actually said that he thinks it is the best restaurant in SF. So we happily gathered up a couple of bottles of wine to have with dinner and tromped over to Zuni. There was a bit of a wait, so we had time for a couple of drinks at the long copper bar downstairs, where we were able to stare in awe as the famous roast chicken with bread salad was prepared before our eyes in the open kitchen. We also worked up an appetite for oysters, as they were proudly displayed in the glass cases dividing the kitchen from the bar. When we arrived at our table, we ordered the roast chicken for which the restaurant is so well known (it takes an hour to prepare) and then we ordered oysters: kumamatos, malpaks, and hog island sweetwaters I believe. After we finished those, we ordered more. All were served with a vinegary shallot-y mignonette sauce, a nice contrast to the rich sweetness of the fresh oysters. Roast chicken with bread salad drenched in chicken jus, caesar salad (another house specialty) with croutons house-made from ACME bread and drizzled with an anchovy-rich dressing, and ricotta gnocchi with a roast butternut squash dice sprinkled over it, and we were stuffed! So back to Bernal Heights and the aerobed...

The Ferry Building, next morning:My favorite part of the trip to San Francisco, apart from seeing actual whales at the Point Reyes lighthouse, was definitely the Ferry Building. Food heaven. We started with a couple of single cup drip coffees from the blue bottle vendor outside the building. Then, coffee in hand, we began to wander. Items sampled: lavender salt, meyer lemon marmalade, nectarine rose jam, kettle corn, and roasted eggplant spread. Items purchased: a blueberry pecan scone, a chocolate croissant, meyer lemon marmalade, a box of recchiuti chocolates, and a cone of chocolate and hazelnut gelato for Chad. The chocolates were purchased inside the building, at Recchiuti Confections. The chocolatier himself was walking around the market that morning, but I was too shy to ask him to autograph my chocolates. There was a lovely cheese shop that I could not visit because of the sheer volume of choice and the fact that I could not be left alone with the cheeses: there were far too many people waiting to be helped. Another favorite which needed to be explored with more time and space: Boulette's Larder. Boulette's Larder is a wonderful place to fill your kitchen with beautiful things, i.e. spices, prepared meals, meal kits like the duck cassoulet kit, the list goes on. Next trip I intend to spend serious time in both the cheese shop and the larder. Also I plan to buy a great deal more chocolate than I did that day at Recchiuti. Luckily the chocolates can be ordered online at www.recchiuticonfections.com. After I finish this box (I am eating them very slowly so as to enjoy them for a longer period of time, naturally!) I will call the shop and order more of the fleur de sel caramels and cardamom nougat chocolates. Chad has turned me into a chocolate fiend lately, and any weight gain resulting from said fiendery may be attributed to his bad influence. More to come in San Francisco trip: Volume II.

January 20, 2007

I received a new cookbook for Christmas from my husband Chad: Soups by Anne-Catherine Bley. Anne-Catherine Bley is the chef-owner of a spot in Paris called le Bar a Soupes (www.lebarasoupes.com), where she prepares daily six different soups that are served up with gorgeous homemade bread, salad/dessert/cheese platter, and a glass of wine or coffee for mere pennies. Bley opened her Paris restaurant after visiting similar places during her travels to London and around the US. When Chad and I visited Paris last year, it was February and there was either rain or snow falling from the sky during our entire vacation. We had read about le Bar a Soupes on www.chocolateandzucchini.com and were so relieved to walk out of the cold, wet, exhaust-scented Paris air and into the warm and welcoming little restaurant. The meal was so wonderful, I remember exactly what I had: chestnut soup with bacon, chickpea salad, and a glass of red table wine. I added Bley's book to my amazon wishlist shortly after our return from Paris, and I am thrilled to be able to indulge in her delightful creations in my own kitchen now.

Oddly enough, the first recipe I wanted to make out of my new book was the chocolate butter cake. It was so beautiful and rustic-looking in the picture, I couldn't resist! Also,it looked exactly in the picture as it did when Chad ordered it in Paris: rich and dense with dark chocolate. I made the gooey chocolaty cake a few nights ago for my family's very belated Christmas celebration, and it was absolutely delicious- and so easy! I have tweaked the cooking time to add a couple of minutes, as the cake was just slightly underdone for my taste, and its presentation suffered for it (I had to reassure my guests repeatedly that the cake was not raw). I also used just a little more chocolate in my recipe than Bley used in the original...too much chocolate? I don't think so.

This is a dessert I plan to serve a lot in the future. It also makes a fine breakfast served chilled with a cup of hot black coffee, if I do say so myself!

Chocolate butter cake

3 eggs

1/2 c sugar

scant cup all purpose flour

7.5 oz dark chocolate (I used a combination of ghirardelli and valrhona that I had in my pantry)

2/3c water

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Butter a loaf pan. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar. Add the flour and beat until thoroughly blended. Set aside.

Break the chocolate into pieces and put them into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1-2 minutes until just melted. Add the water to the melted chocolate and stir to combine. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the chocolate mixture. Put the chocolate mixture back into the microwave for about a minute until the butter is melted, then remove and stir well. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture very slowly and mix well.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 17 minutes. Let the cake stand for at least fifteen minutes before turning it out onto a serving dish. The cake will be very soft in the middle, almost uncooked. Serve with homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Enjoy!